Eve Dallas, homicide Lieutenant of the year 2060 has come a long way from her days as a rookie cop. Owing much to Captain Feeney, who now heads up the department's electronic investigation unit, Eve hopes she has become the homicide investigator that Feeney once tirelessly trained her to be. When she is nominated as lead on a case that involves re-visiting an old investigation, Eve feels uncomfortable giving out tasks to her old boss. Were there mistakes made by Feeney and the original team of detectives?

It seems "The Groom" has returned, the killer so dubbed by the press for his habit of placing rings on the fingers of the women he kills after prolonged torture sessions. One thing they learnt the first time around was that the Groom always had a back-up bride, meaning that when one woman dies, the next victim has already been kidnapped. With a ticking time bomb of the worst kind spurring them onwards, Eve and her team are short of time and short of temper. The big question to Eve is why is this killer, who successfully escaped the New York police the first time around, back in action after such a long time? The answers are in the last case, and treading on tender egos is the least of Eve's concerns. Setting herself up to be the Groom's next target is not something she wants to share with her protective husband any time soon either. As for the Groom’s victims, time will keep on running out for them unless Eve can successfully place herself within the sights of a very efficient killer.

Book Review

Just as it is thought that this series is nearing an end, another book comes along. CREATION IN DEATH is the 25th entry in Robb's very popular "in Death" series, a major achievement in anyone's terms, and particularly so considering how many books it is that Robb also manages to churn out under her own name of Nora Roberts. For the regular reader, this latest book is well within the comfort zone of how we expect Eve to behave, and also of how the relationships of those around her function. The character of Eve Dallas still throws out the smart and snappy dialogue, while stomping over the social niceties in police boots in order to catch her prey. Secondary characters share the limelight less in this latest offering - a plus, as they can get annoying. Making it more of a one woman show with husbandly backup is this reader’s preferred manner in which the series should operate. The platform of a future world is far more interesting than the domestics of what Eve's friends and workmates are up to.

Despite the future setting of New York, science fiction high-tech style, Robb manages to keep the crime in her "in Death" series on a local level which is something of a relief. The crimes remain those of the city, and so well has Robb maintained the rules of her fictional future world that the procedures of investigation have become very familiar to regular readers. The world of Eve Dallas and her billionaire, drop-dead gorgeous (of course) husband is populated with a myriad of interesting characters (the villains being the best of these) and cool gadgets for everyday living. The momentum begun with the debut of the first book continues to CREATION IN DEATH. Said before, worth saying again - this is the crime fiction reader's sorbet. Great fun, fast, and refreshingly different.

Submitted 5 years 4 months ago by voyagersaus.

Thursday, January 10, 2008 - 11:07pm